Power Drill Animates A Stop-Frame Animation

Written By:

Azalea Pena

For artist Federico Tobon, sometimes the best creations are made with non-artistic tools

There’s no need for computers or animation software here. For artist Federico Tobon, all he needs is a power drill to bring life into his hand drawn images.

Tobon, a Los Angeles-based artist, discovered a new way of animating still frames by accident. Feeling the need to experiment, Tobon started drawing the frames and then attached a 24-page reel to a power drill. When he pressed on the trigger, the reel rotated 360° creating a visually impressive animation.

After that successful experiment, Tobon went on to create a wooden box with a hand-crank. The images are attached to the center reel, while the hand-crank is used to rotate the images and make them animated. He later made a system allowing the box to rotate by itself. It is very similar to how mutoscopes work, which is why Tobon also intends his boxes to be coin-operated too.

There’s no need for computers or animation software here. For artist Federico Tobon, all he needs is a power drill to bring life into his hand drawn images.

Tobon, a Los Angeles-based artist, discovered a new way of animating still frames by accident. Feeling the need to experiment, Tobon started drawing the frames and then attached a 24-page reel to a power drill. When he pressed on the trigger, the reel rotated 360° creating a visually impressive animation.

I had to test it with the drill. This is not the final form but it's fun to see it working. Next I'm building a box. This post wasn't sponsored by Milwaukee by the way. 😬 . . . . For licensing/commercial usage, please contact licensing@rumble.com.

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